The Bouquet Toss

You may be as surprised as I was to find out that this tradition did not start with the tossing of flowers bound together to form the bridal bouquet.

Way back in 1300 AD in Paris, France a newly married bride was often seen running for her life down the narrow, cobbled streets followed by a crowd of eager young men. Some were in their late teens and others in their early twenties! Why were they chasing her and she had just taken her vows to love her husband till death did they part? And just before they left the reception for their honeymoon?!

Young men in France would chase after a newly wed woman so as to take the garter around her thigh off her leg. Tradition believed that the first young man to get it off would be the next one in line to get married. Overtime, this tradition changed. Instead of having a crowd of eager young men chase after the bride, pull up her dress in broad day light in front of hundreds of spectators just to retrieve a garter around her leg, the bride voluntarily took off the garter and preferred to toss it to the crowd of eager young men. This saved her dignity, her bridal gown as well as her leg!

So, you must be wondering, what does a garter have to do with a bouquet of flowers? To be fair, the bride chose to toss her bouquet to a crowd of eager young women. Whoever caught it first would also be next in line to get married.

The last question you maybe asking yourself is why didn’t the groom toss any of his wedding related paraphernalia towards the young women? They want to marry a man of their own after all. Why was it all left to the bride?

In my opinion, perhaps its time to add a new twist to this tradition and let the groom join in! Let him toss his boutonnière, his tie pin or a cravat and the first young woman to catch it becomes the next in line to marry!